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‘X-Factor’ Falls Short of Ratings Expectations

By Bill Carter September 22, 2011 1:18 pmSeptember 22, 2011 1:18 pm

Ray Mickshaw/FoxThe auditions for “The X Factor” took place before live audiences as well as the judges.

In what turned out to be a bad case of over expectations, the Fox network and its biggest star, Simon Cowell, posted disappointing ratings for the premiere of the widely-anticipated singing competition, “The X-Factor,” Wednesday night.

The show, which had network competitors fearing that Fox could have on its hands another blockbuster the size of “American Idol,” performed well in an objective sense, attracting about 12.5 million viewers and scoring a much-better-than-average 4.2 rating in the 18- to 49-year-old audience that Fox primarily sells to advertisers.

But the two-hour “X-Factor” was badly beaten in the 9 p.m. hour by the season premiere of ABC’s “Modern Family,” fresh off its sweep at the Emmy Awards. That win was especially significant in the 18-49 measure, where “Family” hit a big 6 rating.

CBS’s returning 9 p.m. show, “Criminal Minds,” also attracted more viewers than “X-Factor,” and managed to improve slightly over the performance of its premiere last year.

Most networks would be pleased with any new show that drew the numbers “X-Factor” posted. But the ratings followed an almost overwhelming build-up of expectations, led by Mr. Cowell, who only a few days ago on the “Today” show said that if the show did not pull in 20 million viewers, it would have to be considered a failure. He was short by 7.5 million viewers.

And in what could be the most telling sign that the audience may not have found the “X-Factor” format enough of a departure from “Idol,” the new Fox show fell considerably short of NBC’s entry in the genre, “The Voice,” which altered the competitive singing format in more creative ways last spring and scored a 5.1 rating for its premiere – almost a full rating point higher than “X-Factor.”

At least one of Fox’s competitors, in assessing the potential impact from Mr. Cowell’s new show, said that the best hope was that it would score ratings somewhere between “Idol” and “The Voice.”